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Ear cleaning question

Sheofthrone3

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I'm having issues cleaning Opal Jeans ears. It seems like there's so much gunk deep down. I don't want to hurt her.
Has anyone ever used those ear wax sucker things? Or even those ear cleaners like pictured below? Do I need to worry about the gunk that's deep down or?

If not what's the most effective way to clean the ears safely?
5f1be2cd06d0bec053a1e9c0acce73a7.jpg


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Bailey21

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I don't have any experience with the tool you mentioned. I purchase long 6" q-tips to get deep down. I wear an LED handlamp while I'm cleaning ears and I usually just clean what I can see deep in there. Cats ears are L shaped, so you really wouldn't be able to hurt the ear drums or anything like that. If I notice a lot of gunk down in there, I'll get my boyfriend to help with either holding them while I clean or vise versa!
 

Sheofthrone3

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I don't have any experience with the tool you mentioned. I purchase long 6" q-tips to get deep down. I wear an LED handlamp while I'm cleaning ears and I usually just clean what I can see deep in there. Cats ears are L shaped, so you really wouldn't be able to hurt the ear drums or anything like that. If I notice a lot of gunk down in there, I'll get my boyfriend to help with either holding them while I clean or vise versa!
That's a good idea on the head lamp! I tired using my phone once but I only have two hands and need 3 just to hold her

I'll be getting one of those soon!

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JSal

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I’ve seen that tool for humans but not for kitties. Some cats produce a lot wax. I like the head lamp idea. Those pointed q tips are nice for the crevices as well.
 

Xandria

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Headlamps make ear cleaning so much easier. I also use three different types of ear buds for different ear terrain LOL.

All that said, you could always have your vet do a thorough clean and after that clean Opal's ears twice a week to stay on top of the gunkiness.

I also notice with my two that one ear is always worse than the other.
 

Sheofthrone3

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Where did you get that ear cleaner?


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Monica

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Great advice given! Headlamps are great. You can also use a flexible clip-on light meant for reading. I bought mine at Barnes & Noble, and I clip it to my sports bra strap while doing his weekly cleanings.

The ear cleaning tool you referenced will be much too big to use on a cat, and too bulky to get down in the crevices. Precision Q-tips are fantastic as well! Perfect for cleaning their ears, and I've also found a preference for using them in place of regular q-tips for a variety of other things (great for fixing winged eyeliner, lol). Amazon sells them in 3-packs.

I wouldn't worry too much about harming your cat's ear with the q-tip while cleaning. You can see in the diagram, you would really have to shove it down in there to do damage. Just get a good grip on your Sphynx and be mindful of where you're poking about. Stay within the ear canal. I will also add that my breeder advises to NEVER squirt the ear flush directly into the cat's ears. She has seen cats end up with a permanent head tilt resulting from an owner or veterinarian who applied ear flush in that manner.


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